Friday, September 02, 2011

“Austin made me the best chicken fajitas,” said my grandma. “I have never had chicken taste so good.”

My uncle is more renown for his squash enchiladas, so I was very intrigued. Now, I have to admit, chicken fajitas are not something I’ve ever been too inspired to make. Perhaps it’s because they’re made with boneless, skinless chicken breasts, which isn’t the most flavorful cut

There’s also the language purist inside of me, that insists calling something chicken fajitas is simply wrong, as the word fajitas originally refers to the cut of meat. Naming the dish chicken fajitas is like saying it’s “chicken sliced steak.”

Of course, this battle was lost long ago and it’s silly for me to not favor a dish because of its inaccurate name. And you have to admit, there’s a thrill when the sizzling chicken arrives on a bed of sautéed peppers and onions, along with the required bowls of pico de gallo, guacamole, and sour cream. A stack of warm flour tortillas makes the meal complete. Fajitas are definitely more than the sum of their parts, and with sweet bell peppers and onions in such abundance these days, I decided to follow my uncle’s lead.

“What did he do to the chicken?” I asked my grandma. She said she couldn’t remember everything, but his marinade did contain lime juice and balsamic vinegar. Lime juice is a classic ingredient for a fajita marinade, so that didn’t surprise me. But balsamic vinegar? That seemed like an inspired choice, as it’s both tangy and sweet. I got in touch with Austin to learn more.
He admitted that it was his first time making chicken fajitas and his marinade was completely improvised. He did indeed start with the standard lime juice and olive oil base, and then threw in the balsamic vinegar, a bit of Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar, Mexican hot sauce, salt and pepper.

It sounded good, so I decided to play around with his basic ingredient list, omitting the brown sugar, as balsamic vinegar is plenty sweet, and substituting a few cloves of garlic and chiles de arbol for the Mexican hot sauce. The marinade was bright and lively, with a bit of heat from the chiles. I threw in my chicken breasts and let it sit for a few hours before cooking.

Now, Austin had grilled his chicken but since I don’t have a grill I instead quickly cooked the chicken breasts in a cast-iron skillet. Since I wasn’t at the farm the day Austin cooked, I don’t really know how his tasted. But if they were at all like the ones I made, then my grandma was correct—this marinade did indeed make a fine fajita. And once I smothered the chicken with guacamole and folded them into fresh flour tortillas, it made for an excellent, end-of-summer dish.

It’s strange to think that this long, hot and dry season is officially ending this weekend. It’s been a rough one for so many and I hope that there is some relief soon. Whether you’re staying inside this holiday or attempting to cook outdoors, may you stay cool and safe. And perhaps make some chicken fajitas.

Method:
In a blender, mix together the lime juice, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, cumin, and chiles de arbol. Blend until smooth, and add salt and black pepper to taste. Pour the marinade over the chicken, and marinade refrigerated for at least one hour.

To make the fajitas, drain the chicken from the marinade. In a large, heavy skillet, heat up 1 tablespoon of oil on medium heat. Add the chicken, and cook covered for about 5 minutes per side, or until the internal temperature is 160 degrees. Remove the chicken from the skillet, and allow to rest for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, add the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil to the skillet, and cook the bell pepper and onion slices on medium heat until tender and soft, about 7-10 minutes. Add salt to taste. While the peppers and onions are cooking, heat up the flour tortillas by either cooking each one over a burner or in a hot, dry skillet for about 15 seconds per side or until they puff.

Slice the chicken and serve with the bell peppers, onions, warm flour tortillas, guacamole, pico de gallo and sour cream, so people can make their own tacos.

Yield: 4-6 servings

Note: If you can't find chiles de arbol just use serrano chiles. The taste will be a little brighter but still fiery.

51 comments:

I can't believe summer is winding down. Although weren't hit with the horrible drought of the mid-South, we were plagued with unusual, ridiculous, never-ending heat. So, there was lots of grilling going on this summer, with simple meals like assemble-it-yourself fajitas. I never thought to add balsamic to the marinade. Me likey!

oh boy... one of my favorite ways to use up leftovers. Not sure if I have ever actually made the dish from raw chicken, it just works so well with leftovers. I just cook for two people most of the time, so using up leftovers in a new way is important to me.

And thank the gods that this summer is over... 75 and low humidity forecast for Monday, first time in two months. Hope all those folks in Vermont and New Jersey that seem to have gotten the brunt of the last storm of the century have a peaceful few weeks to clean up and get normal...

Reminds me of a very similar recipe from Cooks Illustrated that our family loves. The leftovers are even great cold on a salad the next day.http://www.crumblycookie.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/chicken-fajitas.pdf

I have never been a huge fan of chicken fajitas using chicken breasts, mainly because I find it difficult to cook chicken breasts in general. A number of years ago, I purchased pre-marinated fajita chicken thighs at an HEB. I've been using the thighs ever since to make my own!

We just returned from two weeks in what my husband refers to as the "Mother Country" and are already having Tex-Mex withdrawals! I will have to give these a try. What do you think about leaving the skin on the chicken? 15-20 years ago on my early visits to Texas, I remember that many of the restaurants that my husband brought me to did this.

sound fabulous amd I will make these tomorrow as the end of summer is here in oregon and i am feeling very homesick myself wishing my garden had more time to produce food. FYI - preordered 10 cookbooks today. so excited to give them away at xmas. thanks again lisa.....

My husband is from Texas, though he was born in Ohio and we now live in Cincinnati so I consider him a dual-citizen of OH/TX. He loves Tex-Mex food, and I really think he would love this dish. He always tells me about fresh tortillas--how they make anything taste better. Do you think the marinade would go well with steak also?

From a fellow 'Roo & language purist. Eons ago we lived in the R.G. Valley before anybody north of Alice knew the word "fajitas". We were told by the Mex-Am butcher that it was the beef belt. I could understand that, but have had a hard time imagining a belt on any chicken I've ever cut up, much less a belt on a fish. But, I know that language evolves, so I am trying. This recipe sounds wonderful, no matter what it is called & I'm going to try it. Now, if we could just get a recipe for envueltos like the ones served at the Echo Hotel in Edinburg, TX.

The next day I skipped the tortillas and added chicken to a green salad with mango and avocado, seasoned with Newman's low fat sesame ginger dressing. And Austin had brought homemade wholewheat tortillas, then roasted poblano peppers and garlic. The house smelled like a Mexican restaurant. Love the reviews of book. Grandma J.

We never had one danged day of summer now here in Vancouver, Washington it is suppose to be blue skies, sunny and over 90 go figure and the whole danged week hotter than you know what, people working and summer over, schools open, what gives..Love fajitas, make the beef ones with a variety of stuff, will make the one you put in your blog with chicken thighs boneless, should be great, chicken breasts seem a waste in fajitas, they are not too flavorful, the thighs work better..Hoping your cookbook takes off like a rocket, you write well, recipes are easy to understand and the results yummmeeee..congrats upon the release of your cookbook..luv your blog, happy labor day, keep cool in NYC right?

I never really crave fajitas, as much as I do the cheese enchiladas you mention in your article, eating them with my father...but I do make flank, hanger, and skirt steak at least once a week in tacos, a Texas through and through, love my meat!

These look really good- there is nothing better than garlic, onion and pepper sizzling on a hot plate, and the marinade sounds delicious. Just the kind of thing I want to make now that the weather around here is feeling like fall!

sometimes, and by sometimes I mean all the time, I'm really sad that we aren't next door neighbors. Because I would gladly taste test everything that comes out of your kitchen. Chicken Fajitas are my fav! (right next to your carnitas and guacamole!!)

It was with great pleasure (and surprise!) that I saw you featured in my Texas Monthly magazine this month. As a homesick texan living in Chicago for graduate school I've been following your blog and have really enjoyed your recipes. congrats!

I'm dying to try the Frito pie. Last year, I experienced the Friday night lights and the roar of the crowd as I was strolling at dusk through the historic district of Bastrop. Great reminder of my earlier days growing up in Appalachia. Very sorry to hear of all the fire destruction in Bastrop County. I was touring Texas in search of some fantastic barbecue (which I found) and I'm always ready to go back again.

I have to say its a very nice recipe. My husband and I both have latino roots (he being mexican and i being filipino) and anything with seared or grilled chicken is a staple in our family. I noticed how you and your uncle kept it authentic, as most cooks often try to over-europeanize most latin dishes. Some Latino culture may be from spain, however mexican food differs greatly from spanish food altogether. Its good to experiment and find new flavors though. P.S.-- both from deep southern Texas

I love lime-soy sauce-red wine vinegar marinated chicken in my fajitas, and I'll try it with Balsamic vinegar next time. I always use Balsamic in my pico de gallo! It gives it an incredible brightness!

Hi. I don't know if you read old comments but this has been the base of my go-to chicken fajita recipe for almost two years now and it's a staple in our household, maybe even our favorite dish of all. So thank you for that.

Having made it close to two dozen times, I've got some suggestions that improved it, at least for us. First, a combo of dried and fresh chilis in the marinade really livens it up. Second, use more salt than you want in the final dish in the marinade. It acts as a brine and improves the quality of the chicken. Finally, slice the chicken before you brine it. The brine penetrates more quickly, more surface area of the cooked chicken gets browned through the delicious Maillard reaction (if your skillet is hot enough -- make sure it's blazing! -- and you're chicken has been pat-dried), it cooks more quickly and doesn't need as much of a rest. But be careful not to dry out the strips.

If you don't mind, I'll probably sing the praises of your blog and this recipe in particular on my little (unread) blog within the next week or two.